Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Service SAS (SGRE) and Van Oord are collaborating to complete the Saint Brieuc project, situated in the French sector of the North Sea, as they endeavor to contribute to sustainable energy solutions. Sarens played a key role in supporting the construction of 62 turbines for this offshore wind farm for our trusted client Van Oord.
For SGRE's segment of the project, Sarens was tasked with installing three tower sections of the turbine onshore on the construction tower frame (CTF). After finalizing the towers, the installation vessel “Brave Tern” loaded 4 complete towers, blades, and nacelles for the offshore installation of the turbine.
The lifting and tailing operations were meticulously executed, with Sarens deploying the Demag CC 2500 as the tailing crane and the Liebherr LR 11000 as the main crane. The Liebherr LR 11000, configured with a 120-meter boom length initially, was extended to 126 meters in July 2023 to meet project requirements. With an average weight of 150-tonnes per tower section and a radius of 34 meters, the SL flexframe-equipped crane proved to be the ideal choice for the task at hand. Sarens also facilitated the loadout process by utilising the CC 2500 alongside the vessel crane to load the blades onto the installation vessel.
During the lifting/tailing activities, Sarens had to utilise the manpower of Seafrigo (Dockers) as part of the contractual agreement. As part of the project preparation, a team of French dockers followed specific training at the Sarens training center in Wolvertem in the summer of 2022.
Sarens achieved a commendable safety record, successfully completing the project without any accidents or Lost Time Incidents (LTIs).